Catherine Wright

Catherine Wright

Undergraduate Advising Coordinator

My interests lie in the uses and applications of technology in communication, especially in terms of how new innovations are shared with others, as well as how students apply these out of the classroom.

Catherine Wright is a Term Associate Professor of Communication at George Mason University. She teaches courses in Communication Theory, Public Speaking, Small Group Communication, Mass Media Theory, Business & Professional Communication, and Persuasion.

For almost a decade, Dr. Wright has been the Faculty Director of the Italian Cinema, Society, and Culture study abroad program in Milan, Italy. This six-credit multidisciplinary program has introduced students from GMU and other universities around the country to the exciting and diverse country of Italy through lectures and excursions. Students can study topics such as Fashion, Italian Media, Film, Italian Politics, History, Art History, and much more!

As the Department of Communication’s Academic Advising Director, Dr. Wright designs, implements, oversees, and evaluates an advising program of individual students; assesses diverse needs of students who use the Communication advising services; and adjusts the structure of the program to address those needs. She has also helped to create an advising training program, has improved the student/advisor communication system, and has implemented a graduate-student advisor intern program with the College of Education and Human Development.

Dr. Wright received her B.S. from Phillips University and her M.A. in Mass Communication from Texas Tech University. She earned her PhD from Regent University in May 2005, after completing her dissertation entitled, "Digital Piracy: The Investigation of Music Downloading via Peer-to-Peer Connections on the Internet."

As an active member in various organizations such as the Eastern Communication Association (ECA) and the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), she has presented numerous papers, been on several panels, and has been involved in interest groups as Chair. In 2008, from a group of almost 1000 people, Dr. Wright was one of three people who received the prestigious "Committee of Scholars" Award from ECA.

Dr. Wright is conversational in Italian (and always learning to improve) and over the last two decades she and her husband have taken an interest in learning more about wine. They are both certified scuba divers and are always planning their next trip!